s verdure by the ruthless hand of war. The evening was
wet; we reached the once celebrated Thebes in the dark, and were glad to
take shelter in a smoky room, in the first house that could receive us.
The situation is fine, but the present town occupies only the part which
was the fortress of ancient Thebes.

11_th_.--This day we had much mountain country to pass through. Every
tree we could see was either partly burnt or partly cut away. Towards the
end of our day's travel we went through an immense wood, difficult of
passage, on leaving which the Gulf of Aegina appeared in view. We rested
for the night at a little settlement of Albanians near the coast. We
obtained shelter in the cottage of an old woman, who seemed a little
startled at the appearance of strangers, whose language she could not
understand. Concluding, however, that we had the common wants of nature,
and having no bread to offer us, she quickly prepared a little meal, made
a cake, and baked it on the hearth under the ashes. We made signs to be
furnished with a vessel in which we might prepare a little chocolate, our
frequent repast under such circumstances; and, at length, a very rough
homely-looking pitcher was produced; but the greater difficulty was to
find something in which to boil the milk and water. After waiting till
their own soup had been prepared, we obtained the use of the saucepan.
These difficulties overcome, we enjoyed our meal; and offered some to a
Greek woman who had walked beside our mules for the sake of company, on
her dreary journey to Athens; but she refused, with thanks, saying, I am
not sick; for the Greeks seldom take beverage of this sort, except when
they are indisposed. As the inmates of this homely cottage, as well as the
neighbors, who usually come in to see travellers of our uncommon
appearance, did not understand Greek, we were deprived of the opportunity
of reading the Holy Scriptures to them, or of conversing with them on the
subject of religion. All that we could do was to prepare for rest, of
which we stood in great need, having had a very fatiguing ride through the
woods to this place. The room in which we had taken shelter was also to be
our sleeping-place, in common with the old woman and her family and the
Greek traveller; in another part of the room were also a sheep and several
other animals. We swept as clean as we could a space in the neighborhood
of the quiet sheep, and spread what bedding we had upon the mud fl